A drug addict who pushed a delivery driver out of the way to steal her car, had to spend an extra 24 hours in custody after being told he could walk free from court.

Alfie Rossiter, 52, pushed the woman, who was in her 20s, away from her vehicle as she tried to get back into it after dropping off a parcel in Hart Dyke Road, Swanley.

He was told during his sentencing on Tuesday, August 23, he would be freed from the dock because he had spent more than six months on remand.

After being sentenced to four months for the crimes, a judge at Maidstone Crown Court said he was free to leave the building after he was cleared from the court cells, but an admin error by the prison saw him back in the dock the next day waiting for the judge to declare him free.

After returning to the cells at the court, HMP Elmley had contacted officials at the crown court to say he was not due for release because he'd been charged with robbery and had not been sentenced over that count.

During his sentencing, the count of robbery had been left on file and instead he'd been sentenced for aggravated vehicle taking and common assault in relation to the incident which happened at about 7.30pm on Tuesday, February 15 as the delivery driver left her engine running and her car unlocked with the keys in the ignition.

Rossiter, who had taken heroin earlier in the day, came up behind her as she was about get back in her car.

As she opened the driver's door, he pushed her out of the way in an aggressive manner and jumped in the car driving off at speed with the door still open.

The woman screamed for help but was hysterical when a member of the public came to her assistance. The police were called.

But Rossiter, who has a long criminal record, then crashed the car into a wall in Hockenden Lane, Orpington, at a junction near Star Lane which was just 1.6 miles from where he stole it. The car was written off.

He was arrested about 40 minutes later after police were called to the scene when a man found him entering a nearby building in a confused state, with his trousers around his ankles.

He had a bump on his head and blood coming out of his mouth and told the man who found him that he'd just crashed his car.

The pair returned to the crash site and it was then Rossiter, of Hart Dyke Crescent, Swanley, was arrested.

He was later charged with robbery and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, but he pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and common assault and was sentenced when he appeared at Maidstone Crown Court earlier this week.

Judge Philip Statman and the court heard that he'd been in custody since the incident and had a long history of committing offences including serving nine years for burglary and five years for robbery offences.

Matthew Hodgetts, prosecuting, said: "He was aggressive and pushed her out of the way and drove off at speed with the car door open.

"When he was arrested he was found with a bump on his head and blood coming out of his mouth and he admitted in interview he had taken heroin earlier that day."

Judge Statman also heard the delivery driver was now afraid to work after it gets dark as she has a fear of it happening again and is on edge all the time. He also heard she was unable to work for a time after the incident as her car was written off.

Judge Statman on Tuesday said Rossiter had a terrible record and that his opportunistic crime had been on a vulnerable lone woman and he jailed Rossiter for four months for both crimes, but told him he would be free to go from the court building as he had served time on remand.

However, Rossiter was back in court on Wednesday after being kept in custody overnight and was then told by the judge he was to be released immediately after bosses at Elmley had realised they had made an administrative error.

Judge Statman added: "Someone at the prison must be spoken to about the justice procedures."

On Tuesday he had told Rossiter: "Your crime has affected her confidence while she was going about the quiet enjoyment of going about her work."

Rossiter was also banned from driving for 12 months.